Training, Nutrition and Recovery are equally important factors in the field of Sport but one factor that is very often overlooked, and potentially the most potent, is the power of the mind - Sports Pyschology. Click here to open your mind and release even more of your potential.

You've got to believe in what it is you are trying to achieve. Without that belief you've little chance of accomplishing anything of worth. The winners in life have a feeling of certainty that they are going to achieve what they set out to achieve. They want to win, they set out to win, and they do just that - they win.

One great strategy to help nudge you towards the habit of expectancy and inevitable success is to imagine you've already reached what you set as your "ballpark destination" - picture that you have accomplished your goal. Act as if you've already achieved what you wanted to achieve. Behave how you'd expect yourself to if you met this particular goal; consider how you'd walk, talk, sit, listen, show patience, be controlled and exude confidence.

Become relentless in forging the habit that drives you to behave in that winning way. If you do this, the strength and unstoppable momentum of your mindset will deliver. It's got to.

'Behave like you are the best...and you'll have the best chance of being the best you can be.'

Whether its money, success, career, you HAVE to want it enough and in your mind thought about how you are going to get it.

From my experience from family and friend circle - the ones that have made successful careers and lives all knew they were going to get there. There was no hesitation - it was a more "its mine" approach and they did what it took to get it - and mental state was very key.

Another area that i beleive closely relates to this is state of mind and things that can be clinically classed as "depression". Perception, how we view and think about things and how we translate them to personal or not - play such a huge role i n day to day lives.

Alex - You should read some stuff on NLP - I am on my second book now and it really is intriguing. I am reading it more from a perception / getting what you need from people in my everyday life that makes it win-win for both. It talks about understanding peoples defence mechanisms and working to their other sides to bring them to your line of thinking etc - totally facsinating mate - totally. Some of the stuff you get to think about and try in everyday life is awesome especially as it works. Simple things like dialogue, tone, wording, body language - it is mind boggling how such changes can actually steer people to agreeing with you.

NLP and body language is fascinating and something that interests me too. As for Alex's opening post to this thread I couldn't agree more. Visualising yourself already having achieved your goal is crucial to achieve anything that requires effort and discipline - you have to believe you have the right to achieve what you are aiming for. Setting realistic targets is also important, as is setting short and medium term goals as 'stage posts' on your way to your ultimate ambition.

I think all this has to stem from a realistic view of self. Firstly you have to know what is really important to you and then also how your already present talents and abilities can get you to your goal. In recognising your own talents and goals you also gain a confidence which can carry you forward. I am not talking about being arrogant, more a quiet confidence of the kind that helps you pick yourself up after a fall and then to carry on without fear.

Also, always be focused but at the same time ready to help others. Often its through helping others and seeing how they learn and deal with situations you can see things about yourself that you did not see before.

Positivity and negativity can both reinforce themselves, so always try to focus on a positive if things don't go according to plan and try to learn from any mistakes made rather than beat yourself up for them.

When I write my session out in my log book and create the little table etc, whenever I come to a big set, I'll write in the log book the reps I got... even though I haven't done it yet. Predict the outcome and it often comes true

I did a NLP Course at Newcastle over two years as part of my management training.

Once you've done something like that you become very aware of people who have also studied and quite warry. In many ways NLP is being over used in management and is almost perceived by some to be a method to control staff which can have a detrimental effect upon them.

However, back to the OP, I agree with Alex and would say that Arnold said it best with "See, Believe, Achieve".

I think there is a need to see, plan and achieve. The other year, I wrote out a list of 10 things i wanted to achieve within a year and posted them up on my desktop as statements that I had already achieved them and dated it a year on. I achieved 2 of them, one minor and one major.

You have to plan and manage your time very well. Takes somebody with a very strong will and the ability to avoid distraction to gain all they set out for. Often, trying too hard is a road to failure. And placing alot of time and effort into one of many goals is usually at the neglect of some others.

On the whole, a good mindset though

My personal plan is just "Be Better". It's simple. I like it and doesn't set me up for any falls and self loathing down the line.

health4ni wrote:When I write my session out in my log book and create the little table etc, whenever I come to a big set, I'll write in the log book the reps I got... even though I haven't done it yet. Predict the outcome and it often comes true

The power of the mind is unbelievable. Think positive and good things happen, think negative and bad things happen. The way you think can determine your health your achievements.

For example. I hated school and got bullied. I've been saying to people for the last 7 years or so that when my 10year school reunion came up I wouldn't be there. I would like to be in Antarctica. No idea how I would achieve this and for the first few years it was more a "I'd rather be in Antarctica than go to the reunion". Well blow me down with a feather, guess where I was at the time of the reunion? Antarctica.

I will send you the first book if you want; its a very basic introduction but covers a good starting point.

Simon made a good point in terms of its use today - alot of Senior Management in FTSE 100 use these principles but not to effective manage - but to rather get their employees to do things regardless of if they are usefull to the company or not. They use it to ensure people "JFDI" and to do that they need to ensure they can coax them into being part of the team and being useful - when all in reality they are doing is ensuring they get work done so they can empire build.

I personally think its effective to get people to see your way of thinking but to also allow you to see their viewpoint and then work out a common middleground to proceed.

health4ni wrote:When I write my session out in my log book and create the little table etc, whenever I come to a big set, I'll write in the log book the reps I got... even though I haven't done it yet. Predict the outcome and it often comes true

I've done this and it works.

Me too - the thought of having to cross out what I've written and put in less ep's makes me do it!

re Alex'x opener - I recal someone saying something like their son wanted a promotion and his advice was to act like his boss, think like his boss etc. - Lo and behold he got the promotion - Visualise it and you will acheive

Or as Nike said - Just do it

____________________________________________________________________________Don’t let the sets last much longer than ten seconds, total. Kinda like sex with a hot chick, hit it hard for ten seconds.

Some may scoff but also worth reading are (decent) books on ritual magick, chaos magick and things like that (Phil Hine and Peter Carrol are two good authors). The concept of 'invoking a spirit' or 'god' into oneself through a ritual act where you surround yourself with symbols representing that god to attain its attributes (so, for example, invoking Mars the Roman war god would give one feelings of strength, focused agression and increased competetive drive etc) can be spectacularly effective at engineering temporary (or even more permanent) changes in personality.

Things also like Banishing Rituals too can work wonders to halt negative thought patterns. Interestingly you don't even have to fully believe in the 'supernatural' or even be sure how it works - just to be open minded to it and treating it all seriously allows it to work, as it acts through archetypes that are in everyones minds anyway.

Alex, if you're interested in Sociology (I did my degree in it and although it's sod-all help getting a job I still consider it very worthwhile) it'd be worth having a read around the topics of Interactionism/Labeling and particularly the work of Howard Becker:

Out of every aspect of Sociology that I studied it was the one that resonated the most by far with me; you see it in effect daily once you know to look for it and I do think having some knowledge of the subject can help you avoid certain mental pitfalls in life.

NLP by contrast is something I know very little about but am keen to gain an appreciation of- KP, I'd be very keen to read that book of yours (once it's done the rounds) if possible.

I believe that we know our real potential and limits, and that's why we know whether we can do something or not. To be honest, whenever I have tried to use positive thinking on something I wasn't sure of, it has never been successful.

the_cheshirecat wrote::ugeek: I believe that we know our real potential and limits, and that's why we know whether we can do something or not. To be honest, whenever I have tried to use positive thinking on something I wasn't sure of, it has never been successful.

To a certain extent but a good example of breaking this was when Roger Bannister set the world mile record and became the 1st to run in under 4 minutes. There were medical experts who told the world there was no way a man could run the mile in 4 minutes or less, and if a person did, their heart might explode.

He did in 1954 and once he broke the record 37 did in 1955 and over 200 in 1956! Breaking the four-minute mile is now common place. People now believe they can run the mile inside 4 minutes - so they do it.

'Behave like you are the best...and you'll have the best chance of being the best you can be.'

the_cheshirecat wrote:To be honest, whenever I have tried to use positive thinking on something I wasn't sure of, it has never been successful.

Thats an important point... positive thinking has to be based upon something you genuinely believe you at least have the potential to achieve - and also that it is right for you. This is why I think being aware of what you really want is crucial - and to not be afraid if your own goals and ambitions are different to those around you.

I think a lot of unhappiness and "failure" comes from attempting to achieve things that aren't right for us deep down inside. We try to convince ourselves, due to peer pressure and social expectations, that maybe we are somehow wrong for wanting different goals to those around us so we end up feeling isolated and small in a difficult world.... so we attempt to follow the paths of others which we are not suited to and so never succeed in them.

The truth of it is that when somone truely knows themselves and is happy with what they are then the potential to succeed is much greater. This comes back to your point, that if you are not sure of something then it probably isn't right for you in the first place.

There is even positivity in this kind of failure though, as it teaches you just what is right and what isn't.

the_cheshirecat wrote::ugeek: I believe that we know our real potential and limits, and that's why we know whether we can do something or not. To be honest, whenever I have tried to use positive thinking on something I wasn't sure of, it has never been successful.

To a certain extent but a good example of breaking this was when Roger Bannister set the world mile record and became the 1st to run in under 4 minutes. There were medical experts who told the world there was no way a man could run the mile in 4 minutes or less, and if a person did, their heart might explode.

He did in 1954 and once he broke the record 37 did in 1955 and over 200 in 1956! Breaking the four-minute mile is now common place. People now believe they can run the mile inside 4 minutes - so they do it.

I have done quite a number of "impossible things" in my life, but they were impossible for other people only, I knew from the start that I would be OK

the_cheshirecat wrote:To be honest, whenever I have tried to use positive thinking on something I wasn't sure of, it has never been successful.

Thats an important point... positive thinking has to be based upon something you genuinely believe you at least have the potential to achieve - and also that it is right for you. This is why I think being aware of what you really want is crucial - and to not be afraid if your own goals and ambitions are different to those around you.

Yeah, but what if I do know that I haven't got the potential or whatever to reach a certain goal?

Dtlv74 wrote:I think a lot of unhappiness and "failure" comes from attempting to achieve things that aren't right for us deep down inside. We try to convince ourselves, due to peer pressure and social expectations, that maybe we are somehow wrong for wanting different goals to those around us so we end up feeling isolated and small in a difficult world.... so we attempt to follow the paths of others which we are not suited to and so never succeed in them.

I do believe that if you really know yourself you will hardly engage into something that is not right for you, no matter what.

Dtlv74 wrote:The truth of it is that when somone truely knows themselves and is happy with what they are then the potential to succeed is much greater. This comes back to your point, that if you are not sure of something then it probably isn't right for you in the first place.

It's not "not being sure", it's more knowing what I can or cannot do.I haven't always been right, mind you, just very often

Dtlv74 wrote:There is even positivity in this kind of failure though, as it teaches you just what is right and what isn't.

the_cheshirecat wrote::ugeek: I believe that we know our real potential and limits, and that's why we know whether we can do something or not. To be honest, whenever I have tried to use positive thinking on something I wasn't sure of, it has never been successful.

To a certain extent but a good example of breaking this was when Roger Bannister set the world mile record and became the 1st to run in under 4 minutes. There were medical experts who told the world there was no way a man could run the mile in 4 minutes or less, and if a person did, their heart might explode.

He did in 1954 and once he broke the record 37 did in 1955 and over 200 in 1956! Breaking the four-minute mile is now common place. People now believe they can run the mile inside 4 minutes - so they do it.

Same thing applies to Bob Beamon's pretty long jump in 1968 to beat Owen's record that'd been standing for 20+years, Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson's squatting in the 50ies after all the strongmen in the world had only marginally improved on Milo Steinborn's 550lbs squat in the early 20ies.It's a very comment thing in sports that involve records, that they don't increase slowly over time, but plateau until that plateau gets smashed, which is then followed by several people performing way above what was once an "unbeatable record".

Big Choppa wrote:Rab's face probably scares the bar up. Explains his Shit deadlift as well cause the wants to stay away from his deformed bonce.